Shooting Hurts similar games & best alternatives

Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_1.avif
Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_2.avif
Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_3.avif
Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_4.avif
Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_5.avif
Shooting Hurts - shooting-hurts_6.avif

Shooting Hurts

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2018

Should you play it?

A brand new AI, a weapon that turns its health into projectiles, and a gauntlet of tests designed to test their limits. How will you make every shot count when shooting hurts?

What works

  • Unique health-as-ammo mechanic
  • Engaging and challenging gameplay
  • Creative use of shields as platforms
  • Free to play
  • Enjoyable soundtrack

Things to keep in mind

  • Short game length
  • Minimal story and content
  • Some difficulty spikes and artificial difficulty
  • Simplistic graphics
  • Lack of multiplayer or social features

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

More competitive

Games that feels like Shooting Hurts but with more competition against others

More expressive

Games that feels like Shooting Hurts but with more self-expression and customization

More exploratory

Games that feels like Shooting Hurts but with more exploration of areas and secrets

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Shooting Hurts. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Shooting Hurts. These titles are not in What to play next.

Shooting Hurts: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Expression, Fellowship, Cooperation, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Value. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Story, Exploration.

Last update: 24/08/2026